Milanović calls for a compromise agreement on naming new ambassadors

During his visit to the Croatian Museum of Natural History on Tuesday the Croatian President commented on the process of naming new ambassadors. He called on the Prime Minister to come to an agreement, reminding that he had limited himself to only a quarter of the candidates, while the remaining three quarters would be left to the Prime Minister to choose.

When asked about the possible finalization of the list of ambassadors by the end of the year, President Zoran Milanović emphasized the importance of the equal constitutional position of the president and the prime minister: "I respect the prime minister's right to decide who will represent Croatia abroad, but I have the same obligation. Co-decision is only possible if the rights of both parties are respected."

Milanović repeated that when proposing candidates for ambassadors, he had limited himself to only a quarter of the candidates and that represents a serious concession and compromise: "These are people that I have assessed as good and adequate to be representatives of the Republic of Croatia at that level. The Prime Minister has to choose the remaining three quarters of the candidates. Just as I respect his rights and obligations, he must respect mine. I will not say what I think about many of the candidates he has proposed, but I am not impressed. I have said my piece and now it is up to the Prime Minister to decide whether he wants to agree or not."

President Milanović added that he would not back down from the process: "My advisors and I will not withdraw ourselves from this process, nor will we comment on names or float signals to the media. We are not about discussing names. However, the starting point of an eventual agreement, without which nothing can be achieved, is that I respect your authority and responsibility, and you respect mine. That's it. If you begin digging through my candidates, I have a Caterpillar backhoe to dig through yours. But in doing so we will both reduce them to dust."

Source: HRT